Dan Warthen Reads MetsToday

Personally, I didn’t think Dan Warthen even knew how to turn on a computer, much less find his way to the internet to read a blog. But this recent article on Mets.com proves he’s paying attention to the blogosphere (hat tip to MT loyalist “sincekindergarten”). Specifically:

The more simplified delivery Warthen also implemented — with less rotation of the body — is “more repeatable,” in his words, and won’t be compromised so readily by extra effort put forth in moment of duress. Maine should have a smoother, more consistent delivery.

Again, I haven’t personally seen the adjustment made by Warthen, and not sure when he began adjusting Maine’s mechanics. The last time I saw Maine on TV was at least two weeks ago, and he was still carrying the ball and over-rotating. Part of the problem is that it will take many, many hours of correct repetition to correct the problem, so even if Warthen implemented the fix in February, we may not see the results until May or June. “Old habits die hard”, so the saying goes, and it is perfectly apt in the case of baseball mechanics.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.

I hope you submitted a resume and cover letter to the Mets when Rick Peterson was let go last year. Sounds to me like this Warthen character is stealing your ideas! Is he throwing a little coinage your way for the insight?

[…] Keith Hernandez analyzed David Wright’s slump, and was so darn close to identifying Wright’s problem but just fell short. As Keith mentioned, it does have to do with Wright’s over-rotation as the pitch is coming in. But the problem is not that he’s too slow to bring them back around. Rather, it is simple physics: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. In other words, when you over-rotate one way, you’ll over-rotate the other way as a natural progression. Wright is not too slow, he is too quick … well, at least, his hips are too quick to open. It’s actually the same exact issue that John Maine (and often, Ollie Perez) struggles with on the mound. […]